Combustion apparatus



Dec. 27,1927. 1,653,611 L, I. ALDRICH COMBUSTION APPARATUS FiledMarch 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 27, 1927. r 1,653,611

L. I. ALDRICIIH COMBUSTION APPARATUS Filed March 7. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J5 a? Inz/c n (or I W QwM ,lttorncy-k- Patented 27, 1927.

" UNITED STATES P ATENT OFFICE.

LOYD ALDRICH, OF PEOBIA, ILLTN'OIS, ASSIGNOB TO HART OIL BURNER 00., 01'' PEORIA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01' ILLINOIS.

COMBUSTION AIY PARATUS.

My invention relates to liquid fuel ato m izing devices, and more particularly to 'means for controlling the fuel mixture thereof.

' The object of my invention 1s to provide improved controlling mechanism for a com bustion apparatus.

' Another object ofmy invention is n the provision of a liquid fuel mixlng device of the blower type, having related fuel and air control mechanism adapted to regulate the fuel mixture. o

A still furthervobject of myinventlon is in the combination with a liquid fuel atomizing device having an auxiliary air blast of flame controlling mechanism, mcludlng an automaticdamper member and a fuel control valve.

Other objects of my invention Wlll appear in the following specification taken in connection with the annexed drawings; in

which Fig. 1 is a plan view from above of a portion of my atomizing device, showmg in detail. the arrangement of the damper mem- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the device show ng the general relation of the fan and houslng 80 to the main discharge and ignition portions of the device.

Fig. 4is'a rear elevation showing generally, my liquid fuel atomizing device; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged ,detailof the fuel 85 control means.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 4, I have shown a general view of my hquid fuel atomizin device, which forms the subject matter 0 a copending application, Serial #633,272, filed April 19, 1 923. The present application is directed mainly to an arrangement of controls for regulating the flame or fire produced by'the atomizer. 46 The atomizing device per se is the same as the bne show'nand described in the above-- mentioned ap lication, and for .that reason only a gener operation will be given.

" In Figure 4 a general view of the liquid fuel atomizer shows a power means for the device, namely an electric motor 10. There is a flexible couphng 11 connecting the power description of the parts and Application filed Iarch .7, 1924. Serial No. 697,508.

means with the main shaft 12 of the fuel atomizing and feeding device, which is made up of the following portions;

The shaft 12 is disposed horizontally and has a fuel pump 13 connected to the outer end, said pump having a fuel inlet pipe 14 in connection therewith. An air pump 15 is also mounted upon the main shaft 12,said air pump being adapted to roduce a considerable air pressure for t e purpose of atomizingthe liquid fuel. The above-mentioned air compressor has been described in detail in my co-pending application, and includes briefly an eccentric roller having a plurality of cups upon its periphery, rotating in a chamber partially filled with a li uid, whereby, through centrifugal action air is taken into the so-called cups placed under compression, due to the eccentric mounting of the roller, and forced out under an extremely high pressure. This air compressor forms no part .of the present appllcation,

other than to show the general operation ofthe atomizing device. A fan housing 16 houses a fan or blower 17 which is disposed upon the horizontal shaft 12, and provides the added draft through the blast tube 18- to the combustion chamber. (not shown). The fuel pump 13, before mentioned, supplies fuel to the needle valve indicated at 19 in Figure 5. The fuel from said pump passes through the pipe20 into the valve portion .21, wherein the flow may be regulated by movement of the handle 22,,said fuel then being projected into the atomizing chamber or venturi 23. From the air pump 15 the high-pressure air is forced through the pipe 24 to the atomizing chamber or venturi 23, where a substantially complete atomization of the fuel occurs, the resultant mixture passing through the pipe 25 to the rightangular elbow 26 located at the lower prtion of the fan housing. Theoretically t ere should be a complete atomization of the fuel Within the venturi. However, should there not besuch a complete atomization, any fuel not completely atomized will be caught in the small sump 27 just below the elbow. 26, and returned through the small pipe 28 to the air I pump, this excess fuel acting as a means for wreplenishing" the liquid in the air .pum

which requires a certain amount/of ad 1- tional fuel as a lubricating medium; The

same efficiency in "burning. a

from the of fuel.

major portion of the fuel mixture is of course,

completely atomized and passes through the tube 29 disposed within the draft tube 18 to the nozzle 30, from whence it is rojected into the combustion chamber not shown).

Having described briefly my liquid fuel I atomizing device, said device forming the basis of my co-pending application above noted, I will say that in the above device the atomized fuel mixture is projected into the combustion chamber (not shown) where it is ignited.

for the consumer to always" purchase for use The fuel situation, as related to liquid fuel atomizmg devices, makes it impossible a manner that it may pivot within the blast tube about the fuel discharge tube 29 disposed thereinp This pivotal movement of the draft member 32 is provided by raising upon one side the'surface 33 thereof,- and lowering upon the other side ,the surface 34 to permit passage of the fuel tube a The above described damperm ember is normally held in the closed position by the weight 38 and in view of the unequal area 4 thereof at opposite sides of the pivotal axis,-

the damper is caused to open as the ressure is built *up by the 'blower in the not 18,

and automatically closes when the pressure 8 e is relaxed. Thus when thelolower'is at rest the passageway through the duct 18 is closed the same grade of fuel. Although the pres-e nd y pr p i en f e W gh 38 ent atomizing device or burner is adapted to use a fuel oil of low specific gravity, this being the most desirable fuel not onl because of cost, but also because of the big heating efiiciency thereof, still in many instancesusually due to locality-At is necessary to use a different grade of fuel; we will say, a fuel as light asdistillater It n 1ay well be seen that although the atomizmg device s0 fardescribed might burn a fuel of a certain tgrade efficiently, "stilli if some other grade 0 fuel would have to be the device would be necessary to procure the Inother'words, it is desirable'ito have a device adapted to handle the various'grades of fuel and for this reason I have provided the followin means for controlling the fuel mixture an )ne of my control means has been descrlbed, namel the control through the movement of t e handle 22 of the fuel flow pump' 13 and consequently the amount of discharge of said fuel into the atomizrng chamber or venturi 23. The above means is my regulating medium for the flow My fan 17 rovides an ascertained blast through the tu e18 to the combustion chamber. This added draft has been found necessary 1n the resent type of burner, but this draft must e regulated to efiiciently co-operate or rather assist in the combustion of the fuel used. In other words, a certain amount of draft might be all right for one type-of fuel, but in case another fuel were used, variation, of 't is air "blast would be necess To accomplish this varying of; the fan blast to the combustion chambe'r,-I

- thegrade of fuel and flow thereof. used, then a certain amount of regulation ofconsequently the flame or fire produced thereby. to permit a sma 45 tube 18. Similarly, if the weight is moved v I have provlded a dam er member not,

only for the above reasons, ,ut alsol-to regulate the air blast from the fan aecordin t0 complish the above byimeans of the adjustable weight 38 which has a considerable r movement alon the arm 37 It ma be seen that if the weight is disposed at t e outer end of the arm 37, even with the fan I'Q'. 105

tating at its highest speed, thed-amper will. not be forced to the osition shown in Figure 2, but willonl 1 e moved to a position air blast through the to the osition shown in Figure 1, the blast of air irom the fan will force it substantially to the position shown in Figure the entire fan blast will pass in bustion chamber. e Taking into consideration my adjustment of the valve 19 to control the flow of fuel,

the comand the adjustable draft member, I am able any grade of t not only to efliciently -burn 2-.wheref oil, but alsoand more important-to control the -size chamber. 4

This controlling of the size of the within the combustion chamber-is very important, of controls were developed.

To bring out the .vital 'im ortance of con. i

trolling the size of fire wit in the combus} tion chamber, we must first understand the and for this reason the present type:-

of fire within the, combustion p have provided a damper 33, fashioned in operation of the present atomizing device or burner within the well-known type of heating systemhot air.

Fuel burning s stems of the present type, wherein a fuel b ast is forced into the combustion chamber, are sometimes at a disad' vantage in the well-known hot air system of heating, in view of the fact that there is a certain amount of pressure forced into the combustion chamber of the heating system.

1 Now, in hot air heaters, if the pressure of this discharge is excessive, and the furnace or combustion chamber has any leaks therein, there will be an escape, due to this excess pressure of gases into the air pipes, and

' hence into the house proper. The above difficulty is not present in hot water or steam systems; but in hot air heaters in order to have an efficiently operating burner of the present blast feed type, there must be some means of reducing the flame, and at the same time efiiciently burning the fuel, the reduction of the size of fire being for the purpose of reducing the pressure forced into the combustion chamber of the furnace to a point below the normal draft thereof.

It has been for the purpose of overcoming the above difiiculty that the present method of control has been developed, whereby a. reduction of the fuel flow may be counterbalanced by an adjustment of the air blast whereby a smaller but just as eflicient fire will result.

What I claim is In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a duct, a blower dischar g into said duct a fuel supply pipe lea g through said duct and havin a discharge nozzle at the end through w ich atomized fuel is emitted, a valve in the duct pivoted on an axis which extends transversely through the supply pipe and having reversely formed recessed portions to embrace the supply pipe when the valve is in the open position. I

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LOYD I. ALDRICH. 

